Them Goddesses
by Azarath's Raven
Summary: Raven is taken under the wings of the Greek goddesses Athena, Aphrodite and Artemis after she is unceremoniously voted off the team. What will this bode for her, for them and for the love that she has left behind? BBrae and Robstar
1. Them Goddesses, My New Mothers

Disclaimer: The author does not own the Teen Titans. All credits go to the respective creators of the Teen Titans, the most amazing set of characters in the world.

* * *

**Them Goddesses**

He watched her with shimmering emerald eyes as if he were a boy watching his mother about to take her last breaths. "I'm sorry Raven." He whispered as his gaze travelled down the crook of her arm all the way to those slender fingertips that balanced one of those bright red pendants of hers.

"Don't be. Things are simply the way they must be." She replied as if her leaving the Titans was the most normal thing in the world. Assuming the lotus position, she levitated into the air leaving him to watch curiously as she mumbled a spell under her breath. As soon as the last word left her throat, a vortex rose from the centre of the pendant, sucking away everything in her room to nothingness and leaving behind bare walls and empty furniture. "Well, I guess this is goodbye." Raven sighed as she touched down on the ground and tenderly brushed some lint of her cloak.

"No! No! This cannot be happening!" On instinct, the young changeling grabbed her wrist rather roughly and implored her to meet his gaze. "Let me talk to Robin!"

"It's pointless." Raven replied with her characteristic fatalism. "He has made up his mind. They have made up their minds."

"I have made up my mind too!" He asserted as if he was the President of the United States.

"There is one of you to three of them." She pointed out casually as she tucked the pendant away somewhere in the folds of her cloak. "In this world, majority wins."

"But..."

"In this world, majority wins. Goodbye Beast Boy." She gave him a meaningful look that lasted for but a moment. "Someday."

"Raven!" His voice tore at his throat as he lunged after the girl who had disappeared through her portal. That feeble attempt was akin to him trying to fit an elephant in a Prius. He simply flew through thin air and landed on the ground with an ungodly thud. Beast Boy was angry - angry like he had never been before. Striding out of what used to be Raven's room, the boiling Titan made a beeline straight for the person that he blamed the most for this.

* * *

"You!" Beast Boy's scream could be heard through the entire tower as he advanced towards the man who he thought was his friend. "You chased Raven away!"

"I didn't chase Raven away." Cyborg said coolly. "She got voted off the team. Period."

"Have you no soul?" The shorter Titan hollered, his fists shaking with barely controlled rage. "You're the one who brought Blaise here! You're the one who blackmailed Robin into casting the final vote against Raven! You're the one who made her leave!"

"Yo, BB, I can't help it if Raven has problems with my girlfriend." Cyborg said nonchalantly - emphasis on the 'girlfriend'. "She was the one who exploded during the group meeting asking us to choose between her and Blaise because they can't coexist together. She started this whole voting thing by saying 'it's either her or me'. So if you want to blame anyone, blame Raven."

"You blackmailed Robin knowing that he can't afford to lose you, so he voted for Blaise and Starfire followed him! You didn't let them make their own decision, you cheated!" Beast Boy yelled accusingly, unaware that a rather concerned Starfire was hiding behind her bedroom door listening to the conversation they had rather unwisely decided to have right in the hallway.

"So what if I did?" Cyborg's attitude suddenly changed as he grabbed Beast Boy by his uniform and pushed him against the wall. "Blaise is here to stay and Raven has left and there's nothing you can do about it! So get over it, dammit!"

"Raven told us that the Witches of Blaze tried to combine their powers to kill her six times!" Beast Boy retorted, writhing himself free from Cyborg's grasp. "Answer me this." He drew close to Cyborg, his voice dropping to a growl. "Does is not matter to you that your girlfriend tried to kill our friend?" He met Cyborg's eyes and waited for a response.

"No." Cyborg's voice chilled even the eavesdropping Starfire. "You know why? Cuz Raven is powerful. She'll be okay no matter who tries to kill her. She always has been and she always will be."

"Cyborg!" A slender girl with long, wavy brown hair turned the corner and having approached them, took Cyborg's large metallic hand in her small ones. She wore a yellow cowl that glowed as though it was on fire and a red full body jumpsuit beneath it. Beast Boy glared at her resentfully as she whispered into Cyborg's ear.

"We'll be going to the forest for a hike." Cyborg announced cheerily, as if that fiery blow up had not happened. "Beast Boy, the Puppet King's Raven replica is in the red box in the evidence room. You can go marry that puppet if you want." Still laughing at his own joke, Cyborg took Blaise by the hand and the pair strode out of the main room, leaving Beast Boy angrier than he was before.

* * *

Beast Boy slammed his bedroom door shut and leapt onto his bed, furiously hyperventilating as beads of sweat poured into his eyes, momentarily blinding him until he wiped them away. This was not the Cyborg he knew. The Cyborg he knew would not fall in so madly in love that he was contemplating proposing to a stranger he just met. The Cyborg he knew would not be so blinded by love as to continue seeing Blaise as some perfect little angelic pumpkin pie even though Raven had revealed that Blaise's people had made (multiple) attempts on her life. What made him even more incredulous was how Cyborg threatened to leave the team if his sweet, precious and whiny Blaise wasn't added to it. Having stuck through thick and thin with the team, it sounded so absurd to threaten to leave over some girl.

_"I thought Cyborg was a genius!" _He fumed, pacing around in circles like a trapped wolf. _"Clearly he's not! Everyone says I'm not the brightest one on this team but even dumb me can see that Blaise is creepier than Raven. And what does he do? What does he do? Fall in love with her like she's a brunette version of our kind Starfire! Can't he see that she does magic too? Has it ever crossed his mind that she could have cast a spell on him? Nooooo! He's too busy waiting on her hand and foot!" _Beast Boy grumped as he stomped around his room, much to the consternation of Robin who was in the room below him poring through some case files.

"She's out. That terrifying demon is out." His ultra sensitive ears perked up as he heard Blaise's obnoxious voice passing by his room. "That's a relief." Morphing into a fly, he slipped under the door and tried to follow her. "Hang on, I'll call you back. Gosh, when Cyborg said this place was great, he never mentioned anything about a fly infestation!" Blaise took her mobile phone away from her ear and began trying to smack the fly (Beast Boy) against the wall. In panic, he zoomed away from her and retreated back to his room via the gap below his door. "Ugh. Pesky creatures. Now where was I? Oh yeah..." Blaise's voice slowly faded down the hallway.

His heart pounding, Beast Boy dashed to his nightstand and took out a small notebook. Squinting at the unshapely numbers that on hindsight made him ashamed of his handwriting, he finally found Jinx's telephone number below Kid Flash's. He wasn't about to let this slide and if he was to help Raven, he needed to find someone who knew more about magic than he did.

* * *

Raven touched down on the roof one of the many skyscrapers that dominated the city. As she gazed down upon the city, she fingered the pendant that she now wore around her neck. After all, it contained everything that she had in this world. The former Titan's eyes fixated on the hustle and bustle below her, she let out a loud sigh. So dazed and afraid was she that she was unable to sense the presence of three beings hovering a distance above her. Though they had purposefully made themselves invisible to all but her, yet they went unnoticed.

"I never thought that we'd hit the bull's eye that easily." Said Artemis, the one with a golden crescent moon on her fair forehead.

"Yeah, she was pretty easy to find." Agreed Aphrodite as she placidly stroked a white dove that perched on her shoulder.

"The bull has been blinded and wounded." Sighed Athena. Seeing the strange looks that her companions were giving her, she hastened to explain. "She is blind to the world and her soul is wounded."

"Mhmmm... She may be wounded and blind but she sure is a pretty little thing."

"Aphrodite..." sighed Athena as Artemis rolled her eyes. Out of all the goddesses, Aphrodite was definitely the most superficial.

"Okay, so we are aiming to adopt this girl of all the girls in the world because she's the only one that Zeus likes." Stated Artemis, squinting at Raven even though the girl was right in front of her. "She doesn't strike me as an angel though."

"Of course not." Huffed Aphrodite, almost as if she was offended by the observation. "Look at her and look at me. I'm the angel."

"Keep talking and you'll turn into the devil soon enough." Athena stated as she moved a bit closer to Raven. "She needs a family just like we need someone to nurture," the goddess added softly, admiring the way the sunshine danced on Raven's violet hair. None of the gods or goddesses had hair like this. "You know she has the powers that we need for keeping Hades at bay."

"If only she'll grow out her hair. She'll look a lot better with long, wavy hair! She looks like a shaved polar bear for crying out loud!"

"Aphrodite!" Groaned Athena and Artemis in unison.

"I'm serious! Shaved polar bear!"

"Polar bears are not purple..." Artemis shook her head sightly.

"Let's make our move." Athena ordered. Neither sister could stand Aphrodite's constant obsession with beauty and appearance at times. "Raven of Azarath?" Athena spoke first as the sisters neared the forlorn figure. Hearing her voice, Raven leapt up and twirled around. She wanted to attack, yet she hesitated because it had been years since anyone had acknowledged her birthplace like that.

"Who are you?" Her voice was cold but her eyes revealed a slight twinge of curiosity.

"My name is Athena and these are my sisters Artemis and Aphrodite." Spoke the apparent leader of the group.

"The Greek goddesses?" Raven blinked. "You're supposed to be a myth."

"Well, not all of the gods are myths." Athena replied. "Zeus, Hades, the three of us and a couple of others are real." Raven surveyed the three goddesses from head to toe. Athena was the tallest of the three standing at eight feet tall. She had a rather imposing appearance yet her eyes were kind and wise. She definitely fit the bill of the goddess of wisdom and prudent warfare. Artemis was next, standing about a foot shorter than her sister. Despite the fact that she carried a golden bow and a silver quiver full of arrows, she looked more womanly than her sister and her eyes exuded compassion and motherly warmth. Last was Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. She was the shortest and the most beautiful of the three and she carried nothing with her. Like her sisters, she wore white robes that looked like they were made out of fine silk. She wore a lovely golden necklace around her neck and a smattering of tasteful jewellery adorned her. She totally lived up to her name.

"What do you want?" asked Raven after she had come to terms with the fact that they were real.

"Raven, my sisters and I have long wished for a mortal child to nurture and care for." Artemis spoke. "Until now, our father Zeus has not allowed us to do so because he deemed every child we suggested to be unsuitable. That was until that big battle you had with Trigon and we saw your courage and vulnerability at the same time. Zeus saw you too and he was impressed, so he allowed us to reveal ourselves to you. We would love to have you come live with us Raven. We would love to teach you everything we know. Aphrodite, stop smirking!" Artemis suddenly reached out and smacked her sister on her head.

"Aww!" Complained the gorgeous goddess petulantly.

_"So these goddesses want to be my mothers." _Raven thought as she stared at them blankly. _"I don't need that. I can take care of myself." _Although Raven was not particularly attracted to the idea of being called a child, something about their offer intrigued her. She never had a real relationship with her mother Arella and the lack of motherly bonding had left a hole in her heart. Azar had filled that hole to some extent, but now Azar was gone too. _"I have nothing to lose." _She decided at long last. _"I have nowhere to go anyway."_

"Okay." She said softly. "I'll go with you."

"Yes!" Aphrodite was the first to react - with her usual objections that her sisters were now used to. "Palace rule number one! No cutting your hair so short ever again!"

"W-what?" Raven's eyes widened. She wasn't expecting her hair to be the first object of contention.

"Aphrodite will always be Aphrodite." Athena said with a smile. "She hates short hair but she doesn't see how practical it is."

"But you have long hair." Raven quickly pointed out by jabbing a finger in Athena's direction.

"She couldn't stand the nagging!" Artemis laughed as the three goddesses prepared to lead Raven to her new home in the palace of the gods.

* * *

"Thanks for agreeing to help me." Beast Boy said as he took a seat on the sofa in the living room, chuckling a little when the foam beneath him sank down all the way to the hard wood below. "Ever thought about changing this couch?" He raised an eyebrow at Kid Flash, who was rushing around the room trying aimlessly to tidy it up for some strange reason.

"Nah! This thing's golden." Replied the speedster with a wink.

"Golden with mould that is." Muttered Jinx under her breath as she sat down next to Beast Boy and offered him a bowl of popcorn. "So what is it you wanted to ask me about this magical friend of yours?" She asked as she stretched her legs out and rested them nicely on the coffee table.

"Umm... Yeah so there's this new girl called Blaise and she's from a sect called the Witches of Blaze." Jinx immediately choked on her drink, sending a fine stream of juice shooting right out of her nostrils. Startled, Beast Boy stopped short only to be urgently prodded to continue. "She's Cyborg's new girlfriend-"

"Girlfriend?" Jinx interjected, her hair standing even higher than usual. "Cyborg's girlfriend is a Witch of Blaze? What did Raven do to her? Did she smash her into hell?" Asked Jinx eagerly as if she was asking for live updates on a boxing match she couldn't watch.

"No, she didn't." Beast Boy responded curiously as he and Kid Flash exchanged glances. Both were doubtlessly wondering what had gotten into Jinx. "But... she did say that the Witches of Blaze tried to combine their powers to kill her six times. Why would they do that?"

"Cuz Raven is the queen of all demons that's why." Jinx smirked triumphantly, her eyes shining with some sort of twisted glee. "If they kill her, they'll get to rule the entire demon world."

"Raven is the queen of the demons?" Beast Boy asked in amazement, ignoring the incredulous look that Jinx shot him in return.

"Yeah! I thought it was common knowledge." She rolled her eyes and shook her head disapprovingly. "Trigon was the king but now that Raven has defeated him, she's the queen. What did you think happened? That she destroyed him and poof! Everything goes back to normal?"

"I... didn't think about anything really." Admitted Beast Boy with a sheepish grin. "So Raven will try to kill Blaise because if she doesn't, Blaise will try to kill her?"

"Blaise isn't powerful enough to kill Raven." Jinx sighed at the ignorance of those who did no magic. "She doesn't even have the power to put a scratch on her. Raven on the other hand, will try to eliminate Blaise because the Witches of Blaze are impostors."

"What do you mean by impostors?" Wondered Kid Flash as he plopped down on the couch in between them and annoyingly stuck his hand right into Jinx's popcorn bucket.

"Blaise wears a cowl that looks like it's on fire, doesn't she?" Beast Boy's affirmative nod was all Jinx needed to continue. "The Witches of Blaze use magic spells that are fiery and closely resemble the powers that most of Trigon's children possess. Raven's powers manifest differently because Trigon meant for her to be special but the rest of his offspring wield powers like these, so yeah. This allows them to pretend that they are Trigon's offspring so that they can deceive demons into bowing down to them. That's why whenever any of Trigon's real offspring see any Witches of Blaze, they always kill them. They do it to maintain control over the demonic world."

"You said that Raven would try to kill Blaise. What do you mean by 'try'?" Beast Boy asked before cramming a handful of popcorn into his mouth. "If Raven is so much more powerful than her, why does she even have to try? Shouldn't she just be able to do it?" Jinx cringed at the sight, for this whole time, he had been speaking around the popcorn in his mouth.

"She... it's complicated." She replied with a sigh, knowing full well that neither of her companions understood enough about magic to comprehend the real magnitude of what was happening. "Raven... She won't kill Blaise for Cyborg's sake but she'll still try to kill her nonetheless."

"You're not making any sense."

"We have no idea what you're talking about."

"If you actually knew anything about magic you'd understand what I'm talking about." Jinx rolled her eyes once again as she stood up and made her way to the kitchen to get more popcorn.

"What exactly do you need help with anyway?" Asked Kid Flash before downing an entire can of soda in one gulp. "Is an explanation from my babe Jinx all you need or is there something else you want?"

"Raven got kicked off the team." Beast Boy suddenly blurted out the truth. His announcement was accompanied by a loud clang of two pots banging against one another in the kitchen.

"She got... kicked off the team?" Jinx repeated calmly, strangely more suspicious than she was surprised. She stared at him stoically for a moment, before enunciating every word in a cold, calculating voice: "How did this happen?"

"Cyborg fell in love with Blaise and kept bringing her to the tower but it made Raven very angry and agitated so Robin asked Cyborg not to bring Blaise back to the tower and he did, but only after three months he asked if she could join the team and Raven reacted very horribly and said no and asked us to choose between her and Blaise and so we had to vote which one we wanted on the team but, Cyborg blackmailed Robin into voting for Blaise so Starfire did too and they outvoted me and now Raven is gone and tomorrow the titans will unveil their latest member to the public!" Beast Boy spoke in several massive gulps of air, his voice thick with pent up anger. Kid Flash stared at him incredulously as he tried to make sense of his words but Jinx on the other hand, seemed to understand exactly what was happening.

"Wait a minute, so the titans actually voted Raven off the team? I never saw that coming." Kid Flash shook his head disapprovingly.

"You don't see a lot of things coming." Jinx remarked as she shot him a disapproving look for the umpteenth time that day, as if she _had_ actually seen this coming. "So what do you want us to help us with?"

"Tomorrow the titans are holding an official press conference to introduce Blaise to the city. In order to explain Raven's disappearance, Robin has decided to say that Raven chose to leave the team instead of telling everyone that she actually got kicked off." Beast Boy leaned in closer to them. "If he told everyone that she got voted off, it doesn't reflect well on the team. The paps are going to be quite persistent, so he's going to tell them that Raven had decided that she didn't want to be a superhero anymore and left. On top of that, he wants to say that she has decided that she wants to 'pursue other interests' and hopes the city will accept her replacement, and he wants the rest of us to play along! I know this takes all the blame off the team but it makes Raven look bad, especially because she took that oath to protect the city along with the rest of us! And Blaise is totally gonna badmouth Raven all the way!"

"Ah, so you wanna protect her reputation." Kid Flash nodded in approval before glancing at Jinx to see if she agreed with him.

"It's the only thing she has left." Beast Boy said softly, his ears drooping slightly.

"That's sweet." Jinx remarked with a smirk - her lips moved but her eyes didn't and _only one_ of her companions noticed.

"Jinx..." Kid Flash shook his head as Beast Boy turned beet red.

"Well, protecting Raven's reputation is a worthy cause, so yeah we'll help you with that." Jinx spoke from where she leaned with her arms crossed against the doorway of the kitchen, looking at Beast Boy with a expressionless face that instantly told Kid Flash that something was very wrong. Having hoped that Beast Boy hadn't caught on to her change in attitude, the speedster quickly echoed her spoken sentiments. "You know," Jinx started as she walked out of the kitchen and made a round around the couch until she was directly behind them both. "I think I can even get Blaise kicked off the team." There it was: Jinx's wicked smile. Now Kid Flash was even more worried.

"You can?" Beast Boy's ears perked up.

"Oh yeah." Jinx grinned as Kid Flash flashed Beast Boy a knowing smile. The latter never saw the concerned look that the wise KF shot in Jinx's direction the moment his back was turned.


	2. A Threat Arises

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Demanded Kid Flash as Jinx crossed her arms, rolling her eyes and waiting for him to finish his woeful rant. "What if the titans find out? Why are you so sure that Blaise wouldn't use her magic to reverse the effects of yours? Do you even know if this spell works? I mean, have you ever tried it before?"

"Quit bugging out. I know what I'm doing." Jinx shot him a look that told him to shut up - a look that he chose to ignore.

"But if the spell doesn't work Raven's reputation will be completely destroyed. Are you sure we don't need a backup plan?" Kid Flash was starting to feel the pressure. The press conference was less than two hours away and here she was, acting like nothing concerned her at all.

"This is... magic." Jinx leaned close and whispered into his ear. "I know magic. You don't. Leave it to me." He snorted disbelievingly like all skeptical men of science. "You're worrying about the wrong things, KF." She shook her head. "What we should be more worried about is finding Raven."

"The girl can travel through dimensions! There's no way we can find her if she really wanted to hide!" He exclaimed, flapping his arms like he was a bird.

"Actually, we can locate her if we really wanted to." Jinx said without taking her eyes off her magic book that she had just picked up. "Raven is Trigon's daughter, so she's really powerful. This means that her soul is more powerful than everyone else's and it makes her easy to pick out. I can only narrow down her location to a particular dimension, but with your super speed we shouldn't have to worry about searching one dimension. There, my plan is all set. Go change now."

"Okay." Kid Flash zipped away and in an instant, he was back. "Done."

"Sweet! You don't look like you at all!" Jinx said happily. "I've already told Beast Boy about my plan, so everything should work out. In the meantime, I'm going to search for Raven. Good luck!" She called as he blitzed out the door. "Now let's see..."

* * *

Raven sat down on her new bed and stared in wonder at her new room. It was so bright, so heavenly and so unlike her old room back at the tower. Delicate lace curtains sieved out rays of sunlight that made the golden furniture gleam in splendour. The shining white marble floors felt cool to the touch and everything was tastefully adorned with either gold or silver. The palace of the gods was truly a beautiful place.

"How are you adjusting to this place?" Raven looked up to see Athena standing in the doorway. She looked very different without her helmet and spear.

"I guess I'm adjusting." Raven sighed, the corners of her mouth twitching slightly. "It's really bright here."

"If you don't like it you can change it." Athena laughed softly. "I'm not promising that you can redecorate the whole palace though." She continued with a smile. "But this is your room so you can do with it as you please."

"Thanks." Raven visibly brightened up... somewhat.

"I'm very proud of you Raven." Athena said gently.

"For what?" Raven finally asked.

"For taking the necessary steps to keep yourself alive." Athena replied simply. Raven looked at her and nodded as a fleeting feeling of mutual understanding passed between the two.

"If Blaise discovered my weaknesses while living with me..." Raven's voice trailed off into a whisper. "I just don't know what to make of this whole 'demon queen' thing. I honestly don't know what I'm supposed to do but I do know that if something happens to me, chaos would break out as different groups of demons will start battling each other to rule the demonic world and a lot of innocent lives will be lost if they take their battle to the mortal world."

"Raven, as the demon queen, you're a symbol of power. All demons fear you and there is peace in the demonic world because a superior power controls them all. Your father seized control over all the demons and whether you like it or not, you're his daughter and the heiress to everything that he has accomplished. So regardless of whether you defeated Trigon or not, you still will have a degree of control and power. No doubt there are already demons squabbling for power now that Trigon is gone, but overall, peace still reigns because the demons fear that if they seize power too outrightly, you might destroy them." Athena stood up and walked over to the window. Raven watched with intense interest as she held her hand up to the window, casting a shadow on the bed. "What do you see?" Asked the goddess.

"A shadow?" Raven replied curiously.

"Which one is more powerful, the hand or the shadow of the hand?" Athena gently probed.

"The-" Raven stopped short. "The hand I guess?"

"Why is the hand more powerful than the shadow?"

"Because it's real." Raven responded.

"That's right." Athena rejoined Raven on the side of the bed. "Raven, you are like a hand that casts a shadow on the bed. Your shadow reflects everything that your hand does but ultimately, the true power lies within your hand. You've never officially taken up the role as the demon queen and you've never officially tried to do anything with your power as queen. All you've been doing is to use your shadow to control the demons, but that is not where the true power lies. The demons will obey you for a period of time but it won't be long before groups like the Witches of Blaze will recognize that your shadow has no power. It won't be long before they realize that they are obeying something that can do nothing to control them. Until you accept your position and fully seize control of the demonic world with your hand, you will continue to lose your influence by controlling them with shadows. I know you tried to keep yourself alive because your existence maintained peace within the demons, but there will come a time when you will be completely disregarded and you yourself will be reduced to a mere shadow."

"How am I supposed to fully seize control?" Raven stared at Athena with imploring eyes.

"In order for your hand to seize full control, it has to be powerful. A baby's hand cannot hold on to something as tightly as an adult's hand can as it does not have the strength. You must first work on improving yourself. You are powerful Raven. Very powerful. But your over reliance on your incantation to act as a focus for your powers has made you weak."

"I was afraid Blaise would find out about that." Raven hung her head. "Wait, how did you know that?" She demanded sharply.

"I've watched you in action." Replied Athena. "Look Raven, no one is without weaknesses. Even we goddesses have our own weaknesses. The key to true power is to turn your weaknesses into strengths and to hone a wide variety of skills. That's what we are here for. I intend to impart my wisdom and my knowledge of the ways of prudent warfare to you, Artemis will show you how to tap into the mighty powers of nature while Aphrodite..." Athena's voice trailed off.

"What will Aphrodite teach me?" Raven asked with a smirk.

"She'll show you how to get whatever you want whenever you want it from whomever you want it from." Athena replied. "Don't worry, she's an expert."

"I can tell." Raven grinned.

"Raven!" Artemis poked her head into the doorway. "I've got something I want to show you!"

"Go on." Athena said with a smile.

"Bye Athena! Wait up! Wow she's fast!" Raven levitated up and zoomed after the goddess who looked as though she was trying to run a race with light.

* * *

"Titans, look what the guy from the cupcake shop brought us!" Called Robin cheerily as he walked into the main room carrying a large box of cupcakes.

"Cupcakes?" Cyborg greedily rubbed his hands together. "From who?"

"Apparently it's from our 'grateful beneficiary'." Robin pulled the card off the top of the box and tossed it to Cyborg.

"I will never forget the day that you titans saved my life." Cyborg read allowed as the others hastened to cluster around him. "Robin, Cyborg, Beast Boy, Starfire and Raven, you five are my heroes. Please enjoy these cupcakes. Many thanks from your grateful beneficiary." An awkward silence erupted as Cyborg closed the card. Sensing the titans were wondering if it was right to give Raven's cupcake to Blaise, Cyborg came up with a solution. "Here babe, you can have mine. I'll eat Raven's!" He said happily.

"Ummm... It's okay. I'm not really hungry." Blaise shook her head hesitantly.

"Eat it!" Cyborg insisted. "Or else I'll shove it in your face!" He grinned as he playfully waved the cupcake around Blaise's face.

"Okay, okay!" Blaise conceded and took a bite out of the cupcake. "There!" She said after several hasty chews. "Are you happy?"

"So happy! This cupcake is amazing." Cyborg smacked his lips together.

"Beast Boy, do you wish to have a cupcake?" Asked Starfire sweetly.

"No thanks." Beast Boy said dejectedly, glancing furtively around for he knew what Jinx had really done with the cupcakes. "I-I need to be alone."

"He's turning into Raven." Cyborg commented after Beast Boy had left the room. "It's almost as though Raven has been reborn as Beast Boy."

"Leave him alone." Robin said sympathetically. "He hasn't taken her leaving too well."

"Hic!" The titans simultaneously turned to stare at Starfire.

"Ummm... Star have ya forgotten to hydrate yourself or something?" Asked Cyborg quizzically.

"Hic! I - hic! - do not - hic! - know! Hic!" Starfire dashed over to the sink and grabbed a glass of water.

"Hic! What is happening - hic! - to me?" Cried Blaise she started hiccuping as well.

"What the hic! " Cyborg froze as he too fell victim to the hiccups.

"Hic! The - hic! - press - hic! - conference!" Robin desperately downed several glasses of water.

"We can't go like that!" Cyborg exclaimed between hiccups as he quickly gestured towards his arm to signal to Robin that his sensors indicated that there was nothing physically wrong with him.

"It's magic." Robin deduced before choking down another glass of water as though it would help.

"I never - hic! - heard of - hic! - a spell - hic! - that does this." Blaise huffed while eyeing Starfire, of all people, suspiciously.

"If we - hic! - cannot find out - hic! - what is wrong - hic! - before the conference - hic! - Beast Boy is our - hic! - only hope!" By speaking quickly in between hiccups, Robin was able to speak more normally than the others.

"Hic! It's the cupcakes!" Cyborg fumed. Blaise just stared at all of them with discerning eyes as Starfire started sobbing in fear and confusion.

"Hic! I'll get Beast - hic! - Boy!" Robin stated through his pain.

As Robin staggered out of the main room to inform Beast Boy of his task of representing the whole team at the press conference, a teenage sorceress named Jinx was desperately hoping for the first time in her life that something had gone awfully wrong with her magic.

* * *

"I'm not going to repeat myself!" Roared Hades as he waved his scepter in Zeus' face. "Tell your two incorrigible daughters Athena and Artemis to stop helping humans cheat death or else I will be forced to deal with them myself!" The god of the underworld was unhappy and he was making it plain to all who would hear him.

"Those two have not done anything wrong." Zeus replied. "Leave them alone."

"Not done anything wrong? Not done anything wrong?" Hades shouted. "Athena has inspired the creation of all those miraculous cures for deadly diseases helping billions to cheat death over and over again! She also snuck into the meeting rooms of world leaders to influence them not to go to war! Do you have any idea how many souls I could've claimed if another world war happened? Do you have any idea how many people Athena has helped to cheat death? And don't get me started on Artemis! She keeps protecting young girls! And babies! I could've claimed so many young souls for my kingdom if that meddlesome pest hadn't helped so many mothers with childbirth! Especially in countries who have not been poisoned by Athena's knowledge of medicine! Your two little girls are messing up the natural order of things! Humans are now living longer than ever before and it's all their fault! I know that there are other gods who also help humans but Athena and Artemis are the worst!" Hades screamed. "The very worst of the worst! They are the biggest thorns in my side and if you don't get them to stop, I will take things into my own hands!" Hades brought his scepter down firmly on the ground.

"How do you know all that? You rarely venture up to earth from the underworld." Zeus stated. As the god of the sky, he too rarely ventured down to earth since he had few reasons to and he knew that his brother was no different.

"I have my sources." Hades growled. "The souls tell me everything."

"If you want to get yourself into trouble with Athena and Artemis, go ahead." Zeus prepared to take his leave. He had heard enough ranting for one day. "Just don't come begging for mercy when those two fight back."

"I am Hades!" Hades thundered. "I do not beg for mercy, I make others plead for it!"

"Do your sisters a favor." Zeus said to Hermes once the two were out of the furious Hades' hearing range. "I give you the permission to go up to secret palace to warn either Athena or Artemis about Hades."

"Yes, yes! Most certainly." The messenger god acceded to this unusual request a little too readily.

"Hermes!" Zeus called after the retreating figure.

"Yes?"

"I order you not to do anything to or with Aphrodite!"

"I won't." Hermes agreed with a mutinous expression on his face. This time, he moved a little slower as he made his way to the secret palace of the three goddesses.

* * *

Raven gazed in awe at her surroundings as Artemis led her deeper and deeper into the forest. Towering conifers that made the seven foot tall goddess look puny stretched to the skies as sunshine poured down through gaps in between the tree tops. Dead leaves dried to a crisp crinkled underfoot as the haunting cry of the wolf echoed in a distance. Everything was so quiet and so serene in comparison to the noise of the city that she was so used to.

_"This is the perfect place to meditate." _Thought Raven as she kept pace with Artemis. The lightning fast goddess had decided to slow down for Raven's sake, much to Raven's relief.

"We're here." Announced Artemis with sparkling eyes.

"We're where?" Asked Raven lamely.

"The den." Raven's eyes followed Artemis' finger.

_"Wow! How did she spot that?" _Raven was wonderstruck. _"I would never have noticed that hole in the ground." _

"Come on!" Artemis called. "The mother knows me."

"The mother?" Raven repeated as she joined Artemis at the mouth of the den.

"Yes, the mother." Artemis said kindly as a magnificent Husky crawled out of the den followed by the cutest Husky puppies Raven had ever laid her eyes on. "This is Lyka." Artemis said softly. "I brought her here so that she could have her puppies. It's a much more peaceful environment compared to the palace."

"Are you sure?" Raven asked doubtfully. "The palace seems really peaceful."

"Not always." Artemis sighed. "Sometimes the three of us bicker among ourselves."

"Bicker?" Raven repeated.

"Yes. Although we are half-sisters and we've been through a lot together, our differences make conflict inevitable."

"Artemis, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"Athena said that some of the gods are real and others are not. If there are other gods in existence, why are the three of you living in a separate palace away from the other gods?" Raven asked curiously.

"Athena and I, we have quite a few vengeful enemies who would stop at nothing to slay us. We're also unattached, pretty much unattainable goddesses, meaning that we get a lot of unwanted attention from the gods. Some time ago, Athena and I got tired of all this, so we went to Zeus and asked for a secret palace that is hidden from all the other gods. He agreed to grant us our request provided we agreed to protect Aphrodite. Naturally, we agreed."

"Protect Aphrodite from?" Raven asked hoping that Artemis would fill in the blank.

"From Poseidon and Ares." Artemis replied simply. "All the gods are attracted to Aphrodite's beauty but those two are by far the boldest. It also doesn't help that she can't really choose between them and between a lot of others. One day, in a fit of pure, unadulterated rage, Ares rashly threatened to kill Aphrodite because if he couldn't have her all to himself, no one else should. A furious Poseidon threatened to do the same. Aphrodite... She couldn't commit to either one of them and neither could she make a decision so in order to preserve their egos, those two are now trying to kill her even though they are both madly in love with her." Artemis shook her head. "Jealousy and pride are powerful things."

_"I hope she doesn't know that I can induce pride." _Raven thought.

"Hey, do you want to hold the puppies?" Asked Artemis as she held out a squirming bundle of fur.

"Sure." Raven said hesitantly. Unlike Starfire, Raven was not one to be given in to cute things but somehow, the delightful puppies tugged at her heartstrings. "They're beautiful." She breathed as she gazed into their clear, soulful eyes.

"There is a reason why I brought you here." Artemis said as she gently placed another wriggling puppy on Raven's lap. "I want to give you one of these puppies."

"Give?" Raven looked up at the smiling goddess.

"Yes. Lyka has just weaned them and they're all in need of love and a master. I'll keep the rest of the puppies and they will be my working dogs but I'll let you choose one to be your very own."

"I've-I've never had a pet before." Raven faltered. "Let alone a dog."

"Now would be a good time to start." Artemis said encouragingly. "There are many things I want to teach you Raven, many things that you will need to know in order to better hone your powers. Having a dog will allow me to teach you a lot of things that I wouldn't be able to teach you as effectively otherwise. Take your time to choose a puppy. We want to make sure that you get the right one."

_"Artemis is really patient and kind." _Raven observed as the goddess gently examined the mother to make sure she was in good health. After several moments, she took her eyes of the goddess and shifted her attention to the puppies. _"How am I going to choose 'the right one'?" _She wondered as she peered into their fearless, inquisitive foxy faces.

"They're all so lovely!" She complained to Artemis as the goddess examined the smallest puppy.

"Look at the puppies carefully and you'll see which one is for you." The goddess said gently. Raven followed her instructions and examined each puppy with a discerning eye. Before long, she realized that one puppy in particular was paying closer attention to her. While her siblings wrestled and played, she sat there looking at Raven with her adoring blue eyes. When Raven picked her up, her little body wriggled with joy.

"I want this one." Raven decided as she set the puppy down on her lap and watched it curl up as though it had done so for the entire duration of its short life.

"She's yours." Artemis said with a smile. "Why did you choose her out of all the puppies?" Artemis' next words caught Raven off guard.

"Because she likes me better than the rest I guess." Raven finally responded. "Her brothers and sisters were busy playing but she was focused on me and-"

"Shhhhh!" Artemis suddenly cut her off. Sensing a shift in the goddess' mood, the puppies dashed to their mother in search of safety. Raven looked around curiously as Lyka shivered uncontrollably. She saw nothing and heard nothing yet Artemis must have sensed something because the goddess had reached for her bow and arrows. "Raven, take Lyka and her puppies and return to the palace." Artemis whispered as she loaded her bow. "Make sure you are not followed and tell Athena to be on guard for a vulture." The laughing, smiling goddess now wore a stern, serious expression on her face that told Raven that this was no laughing matter. Frightened by the sudden change in demeanour, Raven wrapped Lyka and her puppies up with her soul self and made a beeline for the palace.

* * *

"It's been five hours." Raven whispered as the darkness of night enveloped the palace. Lyka rested with her puppies on a pillow on the floor next to Raven while Aphrodite lounged on the bed as Athena paced around the room. After hearing Artemis' message to watch out for a vulture, Athena had suddenly become very agitated, grabbing her spear and shield and locking herself, Raven and Aphrodite in her room.

"What does a vulture stand for anyway?" Asked Aphrodite as she serenely stroked her toy poodle.

"It stands for Hades." Athena replied curtly.

"Hades?" Raven perked up. "Will Artemis be alright?" She asked fearfully.

"It's night now." Athena said tersely. "Artemis is also the goddess of the moon. If all goes well up to this point, she will be fine." Athena gripped her spear a little tighter.

"Why don't you go help her?" Raven asked for the umpteenth time. Up until now, Athena had not responded to a single one of her questions.

"I can't." Athena stated bluntly. "I cannot leave you two undefended." Seeing that Athena was not in the mood to talk, Raven wisely remained silent.

"Hey puppy." She whispered as the puppy that Artemis had given to her crawled onto her lap, whimpering softly. "Don't worry little one, I'll make sure nothing happens to you." Murmured the demon queen before looking out of the window and gazing at the beautiful full moon.


	3. Cerberus

Cyborg had never seen someone so angry in his life. Blaise looked a fire dragon ready to sneeze - he didn't even know that people could get that red! He wasn't the slightest bit offended by what Beast Boy was currently saying on live national television because of the way he said it but Blaise was a different story. He wondered if the other couple in the room noticed that she was Mount Vesuvius bordering on an eruption.

"He actually handled it pretty good." Robin remarked as the press conference came to an end. The effects of Jinx's work had worn off by now. "Nobody looks bad the way he said it."

"I am just filling in for Raven while she's away at another dimension studying more about magic to improve her skills and serve the city better?" Blaise screeched in one breath, flailing her arms like a drowning woman. "I am not her temporary replacement! I'm her permanent replacement!"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." Robin said measuredly. "I think Beast Boy did the right thing."

"What?!" Cyborg, Robin and Starfire simultaneously winced.

"Think about it logically for a second." Blaise huffed the moment Robin brought logic into the picture. "Now that I've thought about it, the story that we were planning to tell had a lot of holes in it. For starters, I don't think a lot of people are going to believe that Raven would just leave the team out of the blue for no rhyme and reason because she's been so loyal thus far. I also doubt that most people would believe that she said she wanted to pursue other things without her actually saying it in front of them in person. In fact, I think everybody would think that we must've done something bad to make her leave and that we're lying to cover it up. If the reporters became suspicious and started probing us, we could've made complete fools of ourselves out there."

"That doesn't change the fact that everyone thinks I'm her temporary replacement and not her permanent one!" Blaise let out furiously. This whole time, she had simply been waiting for Robin to shut up.

"What does it matter? You're on the team now." Cyborg pointed out what looked like cold, hard logic to him. The blood drained from Blaise's face... before coming back as quickly as it had disappeared.

"Excuse me?" She challenged him, her eyes narrowing into slits of concentrated fury. "You're taking his side over mine?"

"This isn't about sides." Cyborg said defensively, subconsciously leaning away from her. "This is about the fact that you're making a big deal out of nothing. What does it matter what Beast Boy said to the press? He was just trying to protect all of us. We were prepared with a story but we weren't prepared for any questions. For once the little grass stain thought about stuff more logically than us. Can you imagine what would have happened if the public suspected that we voted her off or did something drastic to make her leave? They would hate all of us - and you especially because you're the one who replaced her!"

"Yes indeed. Raven has the many of fans to her own that like her more than they do the liking of any of us." Starfire chimed in. "Those fans would do the hating of you really bad."

"I! I hate all of you!" Screamed Blaise before storming out of the room like a child. _Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! _She repeated over and over again in her head. Her power was failing and she could feel it. Her control over Cyborg was weakening while the limited control that she had over Robin and Starfire in the first place had all but disappeared. _I'll find you. _She vowed, having cast a glance at the tantalising picture that she had on her bedroom wall. _I'll find you and once I do that, they'll be mine and she'll be mine too._

* * *

Raven associated herself with a lot things. She thought herself to be a lover of books, silence, magic, poetry, languages and more. However, one thing that she never imagined herself to be a dog lover yet here she was actually enjoying the sensation of having a puppy on her lap. It helped to calm the nerves that Athena was creating with her pacing and her refusal to talk to anyone. Every now and then, she'd stretch her neck a little to the left to sneak a peek at the goddess' face. She could see those lips moving though no voice came out - it was almost as if Athena was calculating something in her head.

"Raven, how many heroes are there on Earth?" The goddess broke the long preserved silence, startling both Aphrodite and Raven.

"No wonder why men find you unappealing." Aphrodite grumped, rolling her eyes. "You say nothing all day and then choose to give everyone a heart attack by talking when they least expect it."

"Raven answer the question." It was as if Athena hadn't even heard her sister's remark.

"Well there are the Teen Titans." Raven said uncertainly, unsure of whether Athena expected her to have the actual numbers. "Then there's Titans East, the Justice League and a whole bunch of others. We're a pretty well defended planet."

"Yeah but are you a well loved - "

"Who would you say is the most powerful of these heroes?" Athena interrupted her now annoyed sibling.

"I don't know." Raven hesitated. Athena being the goddess of wisdom and prudent warfare should know this information. Her questioning felt more like a test than an actual declaration of ignorance - a test that Raven was afraid she would fail.

"The question should be who is the sexiest of these heroes." Aphrodite grinned suggestively, squirming in the most delectable manner against her silken sheets. Raven gulped and directed dopey eyes at Athena.

"Answer the question Raven." How could Athena remain so focused when Aphrodite was there smirking her head off and raising the temperature of the room by the minute?

"I - I think it's Superman. Superman, Batman and the... Justice League." She faltered. "But the Titans are a close second." She added quickly, not wanting to discredit herself and her friends.

"Superman huh?" Aphrodite pulled herself up, cradling her voluptuous bosom in the crook of her arm. "He must be a super man." She looked wistfully at the bed, ignoring in totality the furious glares her sister was shooting in her direction.

"Must you always be thinking about that?" Snapped Athena, annoyed by Aphrodite's constant PG interruptions. She was usually an exceedingly calm character who moved slowly to anger but Aphrodite had this annoying and unique ability to push her buttons like no one else could.

"Thinking about what?" Aphrodite looked her sister full in the face and blinked her beautiful golden eyes as innocently as she could.

"That." Athena said flatly, her face drooping into a scowl.

"Say it..." Aphrodite prodded in a low, seductive voice that was cut off by a robed figure crashing unceremoniously through the door.

"Artemis!" Athena raced to help her sister up from the floor while Aphrodite and Raven looked on, horrified. The goddess was a sight to behold and not in a good way. Her robes had been shredded like paper and her hair was adorned with thorns and briars.

"When I said that you needed makeup I wasn't talking about mud." Aphrodite remarked, staring curiously at Artemis' mud smeared face.

"Are you alright?" Athena looked her sister up and down as the one of the wild gasped for breath.

"And when I said you needed perfume, rotting forest wasn't the scent I had in mind." Aphrodite added as she daintily pinched her nose with her index finger and thumb.

"It's Cerberus." Artemis finally caught her breath enough to speak. "Hades sent him. He was wrecking havoc in the forest. I barely got all my creatures out of there before he got to them. I fought him off and he's gone now but we can't stay here. Clearly Hades knows where we are."

"Clearly Hades is after the girl." Athena deduced gravely.

"Awwwww... How sweet of him." Aphrodite blushed.

"Not you." Athena frowned slightly. "Raven."

"Ugh." "Me?" "What makes you think that?" The other three all spoke at once.

"Because he needs Raven as much as we do."

"What does she have that I don't have?" Whined Aphrodite, her eyes betraying a spirit that had been sorely grieved.

"The ability to keep quiet!" Athena growled. "I can't explain now, we have to get out of here first. Artemis, you make arrangements for your creatures. I'll handle the essentials in the palace."

"Right away." Artemis nodded before running off, bow and quiver in hand.

"Raven, come here." Athena whispered in a low voice, pulling her confused ward into the privacy of the hallway. "I need you to listen to me very carefully. I need you to go to Earth and bring Aphrodite with you. You both have to stay incognito for a while and I need you to keep track of her because she tends to fall in love very hard and very fast and we can't have that." The goddess cradled Raven's face in her hands. "He sent for you Raven but he didn't get you. His next target will be the only people in existence that you truly care about. If I were you Raven, I'd bring Aphrodite to the Titans immediately. As shallow and vain as she is, she's more powerful than the greatest heroes of your earth. All of you must hide until I come, do you understand?"

Raven bobbed her head gravely. What else could she do but to obey? _She knows that I still care about them. _Raven marvelled in her heart. _I wonder how much more does she know?_

* * *

_**Author's Note: Sorry that I haven't updated this story in ages. I'll try to be more regular with updates since there have been requests for it. Not to give too many spoilers away, but stay tuned for the next chapter when Aphrodite starts messing with people's feelings. Happy reading you guys :)**_


	4. The Stove

"There it is. Titans' Tower." Raven said gravely, her index finger directing Aphrodite's gaze to the structure that was still off limits to her. The goddess said nothing, choosing instead to study one particular part of the tower with concentrated intensity. Following her stare, Raven surmised that Aphrodite was looking at the main room, the place that the Titans usually settled in at this hour.

"I see a couple in love." Aphrodite let out a devious little smile. Nothing warmed her lovely heart more than love.

"It's sickening." Raven spat out, avoiding eye contact with the goddess. When she finally met the gaze that she felt being cast on her, she saw nothing but - she would have expected love but instead, she saw mischief gleaming in the eyes of Aphrodite. In that moment, she felt the goddess' baby soft hand slip onto her arm - and she found herself in the main room. _Aphrodite can teleport? Of course she can! She's a goddess... Ugh stupid me. _Unfortunately for her, Raven didn't have much time to beat herself up for her underestimation of Aphrodite because...

"Raven you have done the coming back!" Starfire's yell of unbridled joy struck her full force.

"Why are you here?" Robin asked coldly as his squealing girlfriend pulled Raven into a deadly, spine-tingling hug.

"To warn you." Raven struggled to breathe as she glanced over at Aphrodite for assurance, which the goddess gladly provided with a warm smile.

"They can't see or hear me." Aphrodite informed her before making herself at home on the Titans' couch and staring queerly at the door of the main room.

"Warn me about what?" He bristled frostily as Starfire released Raven from her death grip but kept her arm draped around Raven's shoulder. Trying to ignore the scowl on his face, Raven explained to him that Hades was real, that he was after them and that the Titans needed to go into hiding. All Robin did was to laugh at her with a laugh that froze her heart. "You are pathetic." He shook his head. "I'm not stupid Raven. I know as well as you do that the Greek gods and goddesses aren't real. It's called Greek mythology for a reason, ergo, myth! Telling me some stupid story and trying to pretend to be our saviour isn't going to get me to let you back on this team Raven. Face it, you're never coming back."

"She isn't?" Aphrodite suddenly made herself visible, shocking Robin and Starfire into stillness. At that moment, Blaise walked in and visibly recoiled in horror at the sight of Aphrodite while Cyborg just stood and stared.

"Who are you? Who is she?" Robin glared at Raven.

"I'm Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty and by the time this night is over, all of you will love me." Aphrodite blew a kiss in Cyborg's direction. She did it in a second but to him, it felt like a minute as he took in that delicate hand reaching out to him in one sleek, graceful manoeuvre. He stared, enraptured by her fine features and those beautiful, golden, soulful eyes that touched the most vulnerable parts of his inner being. Adrenaline pulsed through every nerve, sparks shot through every circuit leaving him stunned and unmoving at the sight of beauty in its purest form. He felt as though he had just jumped into a warm, steamy bath on a foggy winter's day, revelling in the pleasure it gave him. She became his central focus; her with the beautiful brown hair that cascaded in ripples across her back and her chest, flashing diamond sparkles at the world when kissed by the light. Her, the woman whose full lips whispered into reality the fables of perfection, eclipsing the things man hopes and wishes for in the very wildest of his dreams. Her, the woman who sat before him in regality, smiling with quiet confidence, surrounded by an aura of invigorating self-assurance. All else - particularly Blaise - faded into non-existence; out of thought, out of mind, out of desire.

All eyes watched with amazement and disbelief as he pensively approached Aphrodite like a starstruck lad who had just laid eyes on the woman of his dreams. She narrowed an eyebrow, warning him to back off a little yet drawing him in with her ever so seductive half-smile.

"You are beautiful." He whispered to her in a breathy voice that sounded like a shout amidst the silence of the room.

"Tell me something I don't know." She smiled confidently, resting her left elbow on the backrest of the couch before tucking her hand under her chin.

"He's mine!" Blaise suddenly came to her senses, having realised that his love for her was completely gone and that she could no longer control him. She lunged for Aphrodite with a ball of fire in her hand, only to find herself strangely in love with and attracted to... the kitchen stove of all things. "My, my what do we have here, Mr Handsome?" She asked, approaching the stove and sticking the tip of her index finger in her mouth. Pulling it out, she slowly dragged her finger over the knobs to turn on the stove. Raven, Robin and Starfire stared incredulously at her before turning to look at Aphrodite - who managed to look somewhat self-righteous despite the naughty grin on her face.

"You did that?" Raven didn't know whether to laugh or feel sorry for Blaise; who she had a feeling was going to make a complete fool of herself in no time.

"Of course I did it." Aphrodite winked at her. "I'm a goddess, remember?"

"Oh you smell amazing!" Blaise blushed as modestly as she could - as though the stove had said something to her.

"She and my sisters are all alike." Aphrodite rolled her eyes. Raven noticed that she did that a lot, especially over things she disapproved of. "They think that awful smells like rotting forest, cooking gas and warfare sweat are attractive perfume scents." The goddess of beauty stated glumly. "I have to live with these people!" She complained as Cyborg joined her on the couch, his starry eyes fixated on her face.

"These are your parents? Mr and Mrs Stove? Nice to meet you!" Blaise yelped from the kitchen. Even Robin and Starfire were laughing now. As they sniggered and pointed like little kids, Aphrodite observed Raven's feelings towards Blaise and did some math while she was at it.

"Raven I thought you said there were four of them. Is the last one _coming_?" Aphrodite put a strange emphasis on the 'coming' part. Raven stared at her curiously, understanding the words she said but not so much liking the tone she used.

"Beast Boy is doing the coming." Starfire informed Aphrodite, seeing that Raven didn't look as though she was going to respond.

"Beast, _boy_?" Aphrodite suddenly sat up straighter, her eyes sparkling with interest. All Raven had told her was that they were coming for three guys and one girl. Judging from Raven's intense dislike for Blaise, the goddess surmised that she had probably been referring to the slender girl with the red hair, the skinny boy in the weirdest green tights and the half metal man who was now drooling over her. That added up to three, which didn't add up at all. There had to be one more guy.

"Yes his name is Beast Boy. He's a shapeshifter who can change into all kinds of animals." Robin informed her, having felt a queer need to be helpful in her presence. Despite having many questions about her still whirling around in his mind, he actually found himself strangely attracted to her, albeit in a platonic way. She was as likeable as she was beautiful and his gut told him that she'd make a good ally for some reason.

"So he can change into all kinds of animals but he can't change into a man?" Aphrodite sounded a wee bit disappointed.

"Well, he is technically a man now." Robin ran his fingers through his hair. Indeed, Beast Boy had just turned eighteen not long ago.

"But you call him a boy." Aphrodite deadpanned. She was very much unamused by this.

"It's just his name. That doesn't mean he's a boy." The goddess looked even more unhappy now. Having mumbled something about calling someone something that they're not, she turned to Raven.

"So Raven dearest." Raven winced at the sound of that nickname. "What do you think about this man-child?" It was as if Aphrodite had looked right through her soul.

"He's a child." She folded her arms across her chest - a defensive move that didn't go unnoticed by the goddess.

"Is he _your_ child?" The goddess emphasised on the 'your' this time. Raven's pale face turned beet red.

"No he's not!" She snapped like a wounded cougar. Something in the kitchen exploded but the momentary loss of control over her powers did not stop her from saying as indignantly as she could, "I am not his mother."

"I didn't mean it literally." Aphrodite toyed with the silken ends of her luscious locks of hair. The mischievous twinkle in her eye was back again.

"Athena said that we're supposed to go into hiding. Urgently." Raven abruptly changed the subject, desperately unwilling to allow the teasing to continue. She suspected that this was what Athena was worried would happen - that Aphrodite would distract everyone with her love for love leaving them with not enough time to escape whatever that was out to get them.

"Athena told you and the man-child to go into hiding together? That's very sweet." Aphrodite smiled, while Robin and Starfire sputtered with laughter. "I believe you mortals have a word for it. What was it? Eloping?"

"I am not getting married to that man-child!" The refrigerator in the kitchen exploded, its door just barely missing Blaise - who was toying merrily with the stove.

"Aha! So you admit that there is some man in him!" Aphrodite excitedly pointed an accusing finger at Raven.

"Yes but we're not getting married!" Raven began to feel hot under the collar. Somewhere in the kitchen, she could hear a loud 'muah' sound as Blaise planted a loving kiss on the stove, completely oblivious to the carnage around her. Raven panted heavily as she tried to get her powers under control. She had not been blowing stuff up in the kitchen on purpose, this was merely the unintended effect of her directing so many negative feelings at Blaise. "I repeat, we're not getting married!"

"Darling, that's the whole point of eloping." Aphrodite grinned. "It's a secret that you don't tell anyone, including me." The goddess pouted as if Raven had committed some unforgivable crime.

"But we're seriously not getting married! We aren't even dating yet!" Raven was almost yelling now. She finally understood what Artemis meant when she said that the sisters bickered among themselves. She was starting to feel sorry for the other two now.

"Who says you have to date before you get married?" Aphrodite asked innocently, more innocently than she should have. As much as she was frustrated with her, Raven found her undeniably adorable. "And did you say 'we aren't even dating, yet'? Are you implying with the 'yet' that you would actually consider dating the man-child?"

"Don't all people date before getting married?" Raven screeched, "And no, I would never consider dating the man-child!" The sofa exploded from under Aphrodite, leaving the epitome of gorgeousness on the floor, on her butt, covered in sofa fluff.

"Pfftt, pfftt!" Aphrodite sputtered as she wiped the fuzz from her face. "That's it! Time to go." She snapped in mock anger before rounding up the Titans like a reluctant mother hen. Before she teleported them away, she turned to the apologetic Raven with a more serious look on her face. "Just so you know Raven, pride is a serial killer of love."

* * *

_**Author's Note: Hi guys! Thanks for the amazing reviews that came in for the previous chapter of this story! It really encouraged me to write more. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as the last. I've been working on the next chapter when Aphrodite meets Beast Boy... I think it's gonna be pretty epic. Until then, happy reading! :)**_


	5. Gorilla

Blaise peeled herself off the kitchen stove and stared at the empty main room with bleary eyes. Her full on make out session with the stove had lasted a full hour but to her, it only felt like a few minutes. She stared down at it, confused. The love that she had for it earlier was gone. Unknown to her, Aphrodite had finally gotten bored of watching her making lip contact with the stove and therefore had decided to release her from the love that bound her to it.

_"Damnit, they're gone." _She would've protested more but at this point, she felt too drained and exhausted to register a truly passionate response. She didn't have this kind of energy left to be mad about being left behind and alone. Having realised that she smelled weird, she pulled off her cowl and made her way to the shower, basking in the liquid steam that massaged her aching muscles. She opted for a comfortable pair of pyjamas instead of her usual uniform and having changed into them, climbed into bed and stared at the picture on the wall next to her. _"You're the one I really love." _She stared at its features, memorising every curve and line. _"And I will get to you even if I have to go through the goddess of war myself."_

* * *

"I feel different." Cyborg confided in Robin and Starfire as the trio made themselves at home in the living room that Aphrodite had assigned to them. "It's like, I'm me again, ya know?"

"In what way?" Robin asked curiously, his arm casually draped over Starfire's shoulders.

"I feel more... sane and less angry. I can't describe it but I just feel more cool about stuff." Cyborg shared. Robin and Starfire were quick to observe that the old, playful twinkle that had long disappeared, had reappeared in his eye.

"He's really the not same." Whispered Starfire into Robin's ear.

"Man this bacon is good!" Cyborg exclaimed as he helped himself to his twentieth slice of bacon from the golden platter on the coffee table in the middle of the room. Just then, the door to his left opened and in walked the missing member of the group. "Yo BB! Whaddup ya little grass stain?" Cyborg grinned cheerily as he beckoned the green Titan to join him on the couch.

"Is it weird that I find Cyborg being his old self weird?" Beast Boy was far more reserved, staring at his friend as though he was insane. He had not felt this welcome around Cyborg in a very long time.

"I'm in love." The robotic man chomped down on yet another slice of bacon.

"With bacon?" Beast Boy took a seat at the edge of the couch and helped himself to a drink, secretly wondering in his mind how many pigs had been killed to make this 'feast'.

"Nah dude. I'm in love with Raven's mother." Beast Boy did a spit take, spraying a fine cloud of grape juice all over the bacon.

"What?" He yelped, hardly believing his ears.

"Yep. Raven's mom." Cyborg grinned casually before he continued devouring the bacon as though the spit take had not happened.

"Dude... You can't be serious! Please tell me he's lying." Beast Boy directed pleading eyes in Robin's direction.

"No, he's not." Robin said gravely, trying his best to prevent his lips from curling into a smile.

"How did this happen?" Beast Boy exclaimed incredulously, setting his cup on the table with a look of surprise and disgust on his face.

"I saw her and I fell in love with her." Cyborg smirked teasingly.

"Where?"

"The Tower."

"How?"

"She appeared in the main room."

"And introduced herself as Raven's mother and you fell in love with her?" Beast Boy screeched before morphing into a parrot for emphasis. "And Raven's totally okay with you loving her mom? Wait! Did her mom bring Raven to you guys?"

"If she had she would have been here now." Robin responded coyly, too amused by the spectacle to correct the misunderstanding that was befuddling Beast Boy's mind. Meanwhile, Aphrodite, having been informed by Hermes that Beast Boy had arrived, teleported herself and Raven into the hallway leading up to the room the Titans were in. She had very kindly decided not to scare them half to death again by simply appearing out of thin air. They were just about to enter when Aphrodite stopped short.

"This is so unfair!" Beast Boy yelled loudly as though he was in a noisy fish market and not a grand palace. What little colour that was left on Raven's face instantly drained. "You guys are totally playing with me right now! Not cool dude!" He hollered at Cyborg, who couldn't keep the smirk off his face.

"Cyborg is actually doing the telling of the truth." Beast Boy blinked at the sound of Starfire's high, demure voice. He stopped short, trusting her yet not wanting to. He knew that she had less reason to lie as opposed to Robin and Cyborg but he didn't want to believe that his best friend was in love with his crush's mother. That sounded so creepy and wrong on so many levels!

"Does she love you back?!" He demanded rudely, grabbing Cyborg by the throat and staring right into his eyes.

"I'm pretty sure she does." Cyborg smiled smugly, his face etched in cheekiness. "She blew me a kiss and made heart eyes."

"Dude! That's not a real thing!" The changeling protested, his volume reaching peak decibels. Aphrodite chose this moment to push open the door and walk in.

"So you're the man-child." The goddess stopped short. Had Raven been more outspoken, she would've screamed. Beast Boy was unintentionally straddling Cyborg, each knee resting on either side of the robotic man's thighs, his butt uncomfortably close to that bionic lap. His situation was not helped by the fact that he had his fingers wrapped firmly around his best friend's neck and their faces were so close to each other that their lips were separated by mere thickness of the average carrot. At the sight of the horrified goddess, Beast Boy jumped back with a very girlish yelp. Though his voice had long deepened, in moments of extreme fear, he managed a fine falsetto.

Aphrodite looked thoroughly shell-shocked, unsure about what horrified her more: the fact that he was green or the girly yelp.

"Beast Boy," Cyborg wore a smug look that betrayed his devious intentions. "This is Raven's adoptive mother, Aphrodite. Aphrodite, meet Beast Boy."

"Nice to meet you, Aphrodite." The shorter Titan suddenly realised where he was and politely offered his right hand to the goddess, who stood unmoving as though she had seen a ghoulish corpse in the last stages of decomposition and decay. Five awkward seconds passed without the goddess making a movement to accept the handshake... Beast Boy slowly retracted his hand, his gaze directed straight down to the floor.

"You certainly are a beast, _boy._" Aphrodite's tone sounded a wee bit condescending. She simply stood and looked, her stoic yet seductive gaze doing little to betray her inner thoughts. He cocked his head to one side, fascinated by the fine woman with a beautiful voice, who stood before him as the embodiment of royalty. Unsure about how to respond to her remark, he kept his eyes fixated on everything but her eyes. He had no idea why this woman was Raven's adoptive mother but he quickly purposed in his heart that any mother of Raven's had to be impressed. So far, he had gotten off to a fantastically rotten start.

"So... Ummmm... Mrs - " He finally plucked up the courage to speak - only to stop because he had suddenly realised that he had no clue what Aphrodite's last name was. "Mrs Trigon?" He faltered. Aphrodite's face fell into a scowl.

"From now on, you will simply refer to me as _ma'am._" Aphrodite deadpanned before sitting down on the couch and folding her arms, while the other Titans tried to maintain their composures.

"Cyborg already said she's my adoptive mother." Raven hissed into his ear, unaware that the goddess could hear her. "How could she be Mrs Trigon if she's my adoptive mother?! Use your brain!"

"I am trying to!" He hissed back defensively, also unaware that Aphrodite was listening and trying not to laugh.

"Well try harder!" Raven had the final word before she brushed past him and sat down next to Aphrodite. Beast Boy evaluated his choices. There were four large couches arranged in a square around a coffee table, with each couch being long enough to comfortably sit three. Robin and Starfire shared one, Raven and Aphrodite had the one next to them while Cyborg had one to himself with the last one being empty. Unknown to him, the goddesses had made this arrangement to suit their mortal charges, knowing that the regular 'throne room' layout that they usually sat in would probably make them unapproachable to the kids. Since Cyborg had this devious look on his face that bode terrible things for BB, the Titan chose to sit by himself on the empty couch. He regretted it immediately.

"Explain to me why you deserve to be called a man, _boy_." Oh, dear. Aphrodite was looking right at him. Cyborg and Robin were laughing so hard they looked as though they were on the verge of asthma attacks.

"Because I'm willing to give my everything to protect the people I love." He tapped his foot on the floor nervously. She raised an eyebrow. "Ma'am! Yes ma'am!" He suddenly remembered. She seemed satisfied by the response but the empath next to her could tell that the goddess was unconvinced. "Tell me more about yourself." The goddess stated casually, stretching out her long legs and leaning back so she felt more comfortable. She sensed that she had intimidated him more than she had wanted to and that if she was to actually get to know him, she had to befriend him first.

"Well ma'am, I can change into animals, I like video games, pulling pranks on people and stuff." He awkwardly toyed with the cuffs of his gloves.

"So you like pranks." The goddess nodded, more understandingly than disapprovingly. "Do you like girls?"

"No." Beast Boy didn't even think his response through before he answered. He had been so used to denying that he liked Raven in front of Cyborg that his default answer to any girl-related question was 'no'.

"Does that mean you _like_ men?" Aphrodite probed while the rest of the Titans stared at Beast Boy in surprise. They had not been expecting this.

"No, I don't like them that way." The true contents of her first question still hadn't registered in his mind.

"Does that mean you _like_... animals?" Aphrodite asked, fearful that if he didn't start saying yes to something soon, she'd run out of things for him to like.

"Yeah, I love animals." He smiled ever so cluelessly, still hopelessly unaware about what she had actually asked him about. Nervousness was truly his enemy at the moment.

"What kind of animals?" Aphrodite was looking at him curiously, as if she had never met an animal lover before.

"Oh, all kinds." He replied casually. Cyborg was a sobbing mess of laughter and tears now. He had no clue why. "You know, Gorillas, Whales, Tigers, Crabs, everything really."

"I see." Aphrodite said the only thing she could think to say in that moment, her mind still reeling from the 'Gorilla' revelation. Meanwhile, Raven kept her eyes on the floor as Starfire stared at all the males in the room in confusion. She had no idea what they found so funny about Beast Boy liking animals. "Does that mean you prefer animals over humans?" She suddenly asked, hoping to understand him better.

"Well, you could say that. I mean, I've been most of these animals." _How clueless are you? _Fumed Raven as Beast Boy ignored the looks she was giving him and kept going right on. "I feel that animals have always understood me better and when I change into them, I understand them better too. I've just always had this really close bond with animals that is really special to me and a part of who I am, so of course I like animals."

"Huh." Now Aphrodite was truly at a loss for words. What scared the goddess the most was that she could sense he was telling the truth. Unfortunately for Beast Boy, she had overestimated his ability to comprehend her questions and was unaware that they were thinking along two completely different tracks. "Well then, it was nice talking to you little boy." The goddess said as kindly as she could before standing up and preparing to take her leave.

"Athena and Artemis have come back?" Raven guessed, since she knew Aphrodite would have no reason to leave unless it had something to do with her siblings.

"Yes they have." Her adoptive mother nodded, before politely obliging the Titans with sweet pleasantries. If anything, the goddess of love knew how to deal with people.

* * *

"So... You met the man-child." Artemis grinned as Aphrodite joined her sisters in the privacy of Athena's bedroom.

"Yes I did and I'm not a fan." Aphrodite looked sorely disappointed, like a girl who thought she saw a sexy guy only to put on her glasses to find out otherwise.

"The man-child managed to fall out of love with the goddess of love?" Artemis exclaimed in mock horror, while Athena simply stared.

"I know. I didn't even think that was possible." The prettiest one slouched onto the bed, her crestfallen expression somehow amusing the huntress goddess into giggles of glee.

"What happened?" Athena felt obliged to ask, wisely knowing that Aphrodite would not focus on anything else until her love issues were dealt with.

"Let's see." Aphrodite held up her index finger.  
"He's green! Every part of him is green! He looks like a tree! A moss covered tree! Even his hair is green - he looks like something that stepped out of a swamp!" She held up another finger.  
"He screams like a girl and that is not manly. At. All!" Third finger.  
"He reeks! I thought you two smelled pretty bad but he gets the title for 'Worst Smelling Person' in this palace! I didn't even know people could smell this bad! He smells like you after you've spent all day making out with bears combined with the smell of you after you're done making out with dead people!"

"I do not make out with bears!" Artemis protested with fake exasperation, trying not to laugh despite the fact that she was strangely amused by Aphrodite's lack of sensitivity.

"And I do not make out with anyone, let alone dead people!" Athena added a bit indignantly, very much unamused by Aphrodite's portrayal of her wartime activities.

"Whatever! It gets worse." The one and only Aphrodite put her head in her hands. "He says he doesn't like girls in _that _way but somehow, a mangy gorilla is extremely attractive to him! The worst part, I can sense that he likes Raven!" The goddess was almost in tears. "You know what that shows about our Raven? That she's not a girl but an animal!" Aphrodite broke down in overdramatic sobs of grief. "A gorilla to be exact! I know Raven's appearance could use a little tweaking but surely she doesn't look that bad!"

"She looks fine to me." Athena remarked placidly, having gotten used to the drama associated with Aphrodite by now.

"Of course she looks fine to you!" Aphrodite snapped petulantly. "Everything looks fine to you! You could look like a wrinkled prune dressed in a muddy robe covered in feathers for all I care and you'd still look fine to you!" Artemis couldn't stop laughing at this point.

"I don't get what's the big deal about appearance." Athena sighed, wringing her hands and counting the time.

"That explains why your skin looks like tree bark." Aphrodite rolled her eyes. By human standards, Athena was a fairly beautiful woman but by Aphrodite's standards, the goddess of wisdom looked like a troll who hadn't shaved in a thousand years.

"Does this mean you don't approve of the man-child and Raven?" Artemis wondered, since Aphrodite disapproving of love was something that almost never happened.

"Oh no! Of course not. Love is love... We just need to make a few... changes." The cheeky look returned to Aphrodite's face.

"No Aphrodite, please don't." Athena groaned, leaning back in her chair until the back of her head smacked the wall behind her.

"Oh please! There are plenty of things about him that I'm sure you'd hate!" Aphrodite replied eagerly, having felt the need to justify what she was sure her sister saw as 'unnecessary appearance tweaks'.

"Experience has proven that I tend to like the people that you hate." Athena deadpanned. "And clearly, you hate this man-child."

"I do not hate him." Aphrodite declared confidently. "I just - hate the way he smells and the way he acts and the way he sounds and the way he screams - he called me Mrs Trigon!"

"Oh? You have a new man in your life?" Artemis smirked, inwardly rejoicing at the chance to give Aphrodite a taste of her own medicine.

"No." The lovely one huffed, looking more than a bit offended. "He's red and ugly and horny."

"I thought you liked horny." Artemis raised an eyebrow.

"He looks like a... what was that? A goatee!" Aphrodite shuddered at the thought.

"Goat. It's a goat." It was Artemis' turn to sigh.

"Whatever. I will approve of him only if the changes are made." Aphrodite folded her arms, her perfectly sculptured eyebrows furrowed in determination.

"Your approval means little, seeing that you approve of just about everyone who fulfils all the items on your checklist. I will go talk to the man-child to see if your assumption that I won't like him is correct." Athena, the wisest and most mature of the bunch decided firmly. She was not one to let Aphrodite get away with guesses and baseless assumptions.

"Hahahahahaha." Both sisters frowned at the gurgling sound that came from Aphrodite's throat. "Good luck Athena."

_"Oh no. What the hell did I get myself into?"_

* * *

_**Next Up: Athena meets the man-child while Aphrodite... keeps on being Aphrodite. Hope you liked this chapter! Do stick around for the next one :)**_


	6. Boys and Dolls

The aftermath of Aphrodite's departure had been filled with unspeakable silence and awkwardness. With no one left to ask the questions and facilitate the conversation, the Titans simply stared at one another quietly, helplessly, like a bunch of socially inept teenagers. Raven's ejection from the team was still fresh in their minds yet for that moment, the lovely one had somehow managed to make them forget. With her gone, all that remained were furtive glances and pursed lips. That evening, after they had separated for bed, Starfire committed the ultimate no-no in a palace dominated by the goddess of love - she decided to sneak into Raven's room for a private heart to heart talk.

"Raven?" She whispered, leaning her forehead against the other's door, her breathing rather uneven for fear of being caught. "Raven?" She called softly again, knowing that Athena had made the rules pretty clear about not sneaking out at night. The halls of the palace were eerily silent, as if some mute spirit had possessed the place. Just as Starfire's fears were about to get the worst of her, the door opened and there stood Raven with a questioning look on her face. "I need to… t-talk." The red-haired girl wrung her hands desperately. Her shorter counterpart stared hard at her for a moment before ever so warily stepping aside in silent approval of her entry.

"What is it you wish to talk about?" Probed Raven as she rummaged through a drawer while her counterpart groped around in the darkness.

"I have the confessing to do." Starfire turned sad eyes to the ground as she hung her head. From where she sat on Raven's bed, she could see a thread of moonlight cutting the room - ending right at the still form of the woman who was her confidante.

"You do?" Raven mumbled, continuing to dig through her things without turning around.

"I-I miss him." Admitted the alien wearily as she lay down on Raven's bed and stared at the ceiling.

"Huh. Don't we all." Raven sighed softly as she carefully lit a few candles to give the room a better ambience without flooding the whole place with light. She almost wanted to add that Starfire wasn't the only one missing someone tonight but chose instead to merely ask, "did he change back?"

"No." Starfire replied shortly, almost as if it hurt her to say so. A sad look crossed Raven's eyes as she winced apologetically. "I did the thinking that he would but he didn't. He still kind of does the hating of you. H-he did he saying once that you were too of the selfish to make us choose."

"I didn't have a choice." Raven confessed as she climbed onto the other side of the bed and leaned back against the headboard.

"I know." Replied Starfire demurely, her eyes fixed on the flickering flame before her. "Would you," she began again hesitantly, "do the answering of a few questions?"

"Are you going to let me sleep until I answer them?" Raven chuckled, the intimate sense of companionship she used to have with Starfire now back in full force. Time apart had not done wonders for them though they still trusted one another more than they did other heroes.

"Not really." Starfire giggled, turning around and crossing her legs so that she now faced Raven.

"Fine. Out with it." Raven replied somewhat dramatically, knowing that Starfire was probably going to question her about a certain someone.

"Do you do the liking of Beast Boy, even for a little bit?" There it was. _I knew it! _Thought Raven to herself as she struggled to keep a straight face. "I used to like him, Starfire." She responded quietly.

"Used?" Starfire's grammar was not the best but she had been on Earth long enough to understand what the past tense meant. "Yes." Raven answered shortly before the pair lapsed into a period of prolonged silence, with one waiting for the other to elaborate and the other refusing to do so. Catching her fingernail on a snagged thread, she absentmindedly began unravelling Raven's bedspread. "Who helped you?" She suddenly asked simply, turning to look at Raven full in the face. She could tell by the way the other woman's breath hitched that she had hit a nerve.

"You did. You helped me." Raven responded evasively but Starfire did not miss the bite of edginess in her voice.

"Sure." Whispered the alien halfheartedly, although her casual acceptance betrayed her inner suspicion. Raven felt her blood chill, having realised that Starfire was a lot sharper than she had expected her to be. "When you are ready to do the telling to me who else helped you, I will keep your secret," she bit her lip before adding, "like I always have."

"It's… nobody." Raven ventured hesitantly, shifting awkwardly away from the alien. Raven was closing her heart again and in that moment, Starfire knew she was hiding something more than what she knew. "I orchestrated my own ejection from the team and I left. I met the goddesses soon after. That's it. It's nobody Starfire. I had help from nobody."

"Sure." The alien repeated insincerely, her heart dropping at the sound of Raven closing up to her once more. It sounded like silence, it sounded like pain and it sounded so much like the voice of her sister screaming at her in vain. It was a sound that she hated and as she stared at the girl beside her, she understood that somehow, Raven's heart had closed to Beast Boy as well.

* * *

"Do you hear whispering? I hear whispering." Aphrodite sat up straight in her bed, her golden eyes alert with devious passion.

"You know who's whispering? You! Now go back to sleep!" Snapped Athena nastily from her place on the other side of Aphrodite's bed. That night, the egoistical Ares had made another threat on Aphrodite's life and in order to protect their comparatively defenceless sister, Athena and Artemis had agreed to take turns keeping a close watch on Aphrodite. Tonight, Athena would take the first shift and the goddess of war was already regretting it.

"Go back to sleep? Go back to sleep? How am I supposed to sleep when I'm sharing a bed with _you?!_" Hissed Aphrodite in response as she ran her fingers through her flowing locks. "This is not exactly my idea of a good time!"

"Trust me, if I could have avoided sharing a bed with you, I would have done it at all costs." Muttered Athena into her pillow as she tried to drown out Aphrodite's voice with her own hoarse one.

"I'm insulted." Aphrodite's voice held a tinge of sexy displeasure as she leaned over to her sister and whispered in her ear. "I'm _the_ sexiest person you'll ever get to sleep next to. You should be happy."

"Oh, I'm so happy. Sooooo very happy…" Athena groaned like a dying cow. Aphrodite rolled her eyes dubiously before swinging her long legs over her sister's body and climbing over her to get off the bed. As she did so, she made sure to poke her sibling in the ribs with her knee and added a smack on the butt for good measure. "Where are you going?" Wailed Athena tiredly as she too sat up in bed.

"I'm going to find out who's doing all that whispering." Aphrodite replied, slipping on her favourite pair of velvet slippers and tiptoeing daintily towards the door. Athena sighed, rolling off the bed and landing on the floor with an ungodly crash. Pulling herself to her feet, the warrior stomped over to the door before holding it open for Aphrodite, who had waited patiently (and lazily) for her to do so. Together, the two goddesses - one of which was far too wide awake at this ungodly hour - quietly slipped through the hallways in search of the mysterious whispering that both heard but only one acknowledged. "Aha." Aphrodite grinned, pointing a perfectly manicured finger in the direction of Raven's room. Eagerly, Aphrodite tiptoed closer leaving her grudging, trudging sibling further and further behind. Pinning her ear against the door, the goddess listened, and the goddess paled.

"Where are you?" Athena groaned loudly like a walrus with the flu. The goddesses had made themselves both invisible and inaudible to the Titans and thus the sleepy and very unladylike Athena saw no reason to keep her volume down to a minimum. Aphrodite took a deep breath before calling out with a shaky "here!"

"Who is it?" Demanded Athena, slamming her back against the wall in a general display of her foul mood.

"It's Raven." The tone in Aphrodite's voice put Athena on high alert. "Her getting kicked out by the Titans, it wasn't completely their fault. She 'orchestrated' it for some reason and somehow, Starfire is her partner in crime."

"I don't see a problem with that." Athena twisted the corners of her lips into a scowl.

"How is this not a problem? She lied straight to our faces!" Protested Aphrodite, wringing her hands helplessly with the new and unwanted knowledge that she had been lied to.

"Correction, she lied to _your _face." Athena wore a ghost of a smile - her sister had been fooled by a child her fraction of her age. "You made her tell you what happened with the Titans and she lied to _your _face. It isn't a problem though," the goddess remarked, much to the fury of Aphrodite.

"She lied and nobody thought to tell me?!"

"We didn't tell you because we wanted you to figure it out for yourself as a punishment for selective listening."

"We?! You better sleep with both eyes open tonight." Huffed Aphrodite but her shallow mock bravado was quickly perceived for what it was: Fear. "Athena... Starfire clearly knows more than we do and she was very, um, adamant that Raven had help from someone else besides her and Raven clearly lied to her as well."

"What does it matter if she is lying?" Athena asked quietly. "There is no fun in raising a child who doesn't lie... Do you see what I see? Is that Beast Boy?"

* * *

_Beast Boy... I don't think she does the loving of him anymore. _Starfire thought to herself as the two girls lapsed into yet another long stretch of silence. _But then again, is she even capable of doing love in the first place?_

"Muahhhhck." A distinct, suction-like toilet plunger sound echoed down the hallway. Both girls looked up, slightly alarmed and amused at the same time. "Mhmmmm… Mhmmm… Muahh." The moans came louder this time as the duo exchanged glances.

"My mother is at it again." Sighed Raven as she stood up and strode to the door. Reaching for the handle, she hesitated at the last minute, choosing instead to phase through the wall in the form of her soul self. Curiously, Starfire walked over to the door and pressed her ear against it just in time to hear Beast Boy say "Honey, you are so beautiful" in a silky and affectionate voice. "You're all I ever wanted and, you're all I ever needed."

"Awwhhh…" Grinned the alien teasingly at the thought that perhaps BBRae (that was what she called them in her head) were finally official. "Ahem." Starfire twirled around to see Raven standing behind her - she had never seen Raven look this happy or amused in her life. "H-he did not do the saying of t-that to you?" Stammered Starfire as she turned a bright shade of red.

"Oh, he said it to someone alright." Said Raven casually as she sat down on her favourite armchair and crossed her legs loosely. "Who?" Asked Starfire eagerly, her ear still pressed tight against the door. "Here's a clue." Smiled Raven._ Smiled! She actually did the smiling!_ "It's about as tall as he is and it's completely filled with air."

"You?" The alien said the first thing that came to her mind. Raven's annoyed stare was all it took to tell her that was the wrong answer.

"I am fairly confident that he has found the love of his life and is ready for marriage." Declared Raven suddenly as she knelt down beside her bed and pulled out a small wooden chest from under it.

"He… has?" Starfire was flabbergasted, mainly because Beast Boy was undoubtedly the last Titan anyone in the whole freaking universe would expect to be even remotely ready for marriage.

"Yep." Having produced a spell book from the chest, she set it on the bed and proceeded to flip through the thick pages until she found the one she was looking for.

"Raven, who is Beast Boy doing the marriage to?" Starfire's curiosity got the best of her.

"Who else?" Replied her teammate a wee bit distractedly and by her response, Starfire decided that she was referring to Aphrodite. Of course Aphrodite would make Beast Boy ready for marriage. Even the most emotionally unavailable man would make himself available for her. But… Why the hell did Raven seem so comfortable with the idea of her peer marrying her mom and becoming her - stepdad? "Give me your hand." Raven instructed her, holding out her left hand towards the taller girl.

"Oh - s-sure." The baffling command was quickly obeyed. Closing her eyes, she mumbled a spell under her breath that was so indistinct that Starfire could barely figure out what it was. She felt an initial burning sensation on her palm that was quickly soothed by the cool slickness of a diamond. When the spell was complete, Raven let her hand go and Starfire found herself with two beautiful wedding rings resting snugly on her palm. Each had a green diamond the size of a grape that was shaped like a dung beetle. "Whaaaat." Now Starfire was truly perplexed.

"Hold on to them." Whispered Raven before teleporting out of the room. In an instant, she was back, looking decidedly disappointed but devious nonetheless. "You might want to go outside and take a look for yourself." Smiled Raven uncharacteristically as she gestured towards the door with a tilt of her head. Grabbing the handle, the alien threw the door open and stepped into the dim hallway before closing it noiselessly behind her.

There, a few meters away from Raven's bedroom door, stood Beast Boy and Cyborg, who were kissing, nipping and moaning away like dehydrated donkeys in the middle of the Australian outback. Her jaw nearly dropped to the ground as he gently brushed his lips over Cyborg's strangely still ones. "Mhmmm… Muack… muack… muack..." Beast Boy moaned noisily as he started trailing kisses down that muscular neck. Starfire's eyes got progressively bigger as she stood several feet away from the strangely oblivious pair. Then, in one swift motion, Beast Boy pinned Cyborg against the wall, hard. His action was accompanied with a loud farting sound followed by the distinct hiss of escaping air.

"Will you marry me today, please?" Beast Boy sighed in a breathy voice, his eyes gleaming with satiation while Starfire's gleamed with tears. She had never expected Beast Boy to find love in this way, not here, not like this. At last, she understood what Raven had meant when she said that Beast Boy's lover was filled with air. As of today, getting weak in the knees had a completely new definition, given that the Cyborg-sized and Cyborg-shaped blow-up doll before her was completely missing its torso.

"Awh you're airless." Beast Boy whined softly to no one in particular as he flipped the doll over and reached for the rubber stopper at the bottom of its left foot.

From behind them, a door creaked open and out walked a very bewildered and startled Raven, whose interest had clearly been piqued by the loud 'whoooo whoo whoop' sounds Beast Boy was making. The hooded girl watched quietly as a shellshocked Starfire gingerly tiptoed closer towards the back of her huffing and puffing teammate. She looked down upon him for a minute - for she was still taller than he was - and stared straight into the doll's blank, printed and terrifying red eyes. Then, in slow motion, poor, frightened Starfire began backing away. When she came within several feet from Raven's door, she whirled around and raced in, slamming the door behind her with a loud 'BANG'.

"Who's there?" Beast Boy jerked up and looked around, only to see that he was 'all alone' in the hallway since Raven had very quickly made herself scarce. "Ugh I swear this place is haunted." He remarked to the doll before he gave it more than a dozen large lung-fulls of air. Closing the stopper, he grinned teasingly at the doll before him. "Now where were we…" He whispered as he interlaced his hand with the doll's. He stopped short as his sensitive ears caught wind of someone choking and gagging in the room next to him, someone who sounded an awful lot like Starfire. Leaning the doll against the wall, he brazenly walked up to the door and knocked on it with a heavy and uncultured hand. "Hey Star! You in there?" He called out cheerily. She responded with a blood curdling shriek. Silence.

Just as he was contemplating whether to knock again, a very calm Starfire opened the door and faced him.

"You okay, Star? I heard something slam. Was it you?" He asked with all the innocence and sincerity a well-meaning neighbour would use when checking in on the one-hundred and seventeen year old spinster next door. She stared at him blankly for a moment before pushing past him and walking right up to the doll, which she proceeded to hoist high into the air like it was some kind of Lion King. Her right eyebrow went up questioningly as she began her patient wait for his response.

"Um!" He gulped, his mouth suddenly drier than the Sahara desert. "Well…" He stalled, wondering how on earth he was going to explain to her what he was really up to without deflating his pride into oblivion. "You see…" He continued stalling, inwardly berating himself for being so careless and stupid to do something as idiotic as lip-locking with a doll in the hallway. "I found this blow-up doll of Cyborg among my stuff," He looked right up at the ceiling to avoid looking at her eyes, "And I saw it was a little dusty so I decided to clean it."

"With your mouth?" Raven asked.

"Yea -" Wait, that wasn't Starfire's voice. Whirling around in panic, he staggered several steps backward at the sight of the person who he least wanted to see: Raven. "You decided to clean a dusty doll of Cyborg with your mouth?" She reiterated, taking several steps towards the trembling Titan.

"I wasn't cleaning it with my mouth." He frowned, his mind scrambling desperately for words. "I was trying to carry it downstairs to wipe it down and it's really big so it kind of bumped onto my lips."

"We're living on the first floor of the palace, Beast Boy. There is no downstairs." Stated Raven before Starfire followed up with "So who did the moaning, the Cyborg doll or you?"

"I wasn't moaning." He hesitated, his green face burning a bright shade of red; a red so bright that it would put Rudolph to shame. "Whatever you heard, that was me groaning in p-pain because the doll is heav - hard to carry around."

"Honey, you are so beautiful." Mimicked Starfire as she looked the doll in its eyes. Beast Boy visibly froze.

"How long has this been going on?" Raven asked in a sweet voice that he had previously thought her to be incapable of.

"How long has what been going on?" He looked at his shoes in shame as Starfire started squeezing the head of the Cyborg doll for fun. "You and your lover." She replied casually, putting her hand on the doll's shoulder. "I'm terribly offended, you know." He cringed at the sound of those words. "Why didn't you introduce us earlier?"

"Y-yes. If you are in the love Beast Boy, you should have done the telling to us." Agreed Starfire enthusiastically, having caught on to where Raven was going with this.

"Hi, I'm Raven, Beast Boy's friend." Smiled Raven cordially as she held out a hand to the doll. Seeing this awkward expression on her face was enough to make Beast Boy conclude that he no longer wished for her to smile more because it scared him.

"And I am Starfire, Beast Boy's other friend." Grinned the alien as she lightly squeezed the doll's armpits with both hands.

"Beast Boy has told us nothing about you but I am certain he loves you very much." Raven informed the doll with all the respect she could possibly give to the lover of a teammate. "Unfortunately, Beast Boy is also very, very dirt poor because he spends all his money on stupid stuff like comic books and action figures."

"He has none of the financial security or a proper plan for the future but I am sure he will do the making of a good husband." Starfire said confidently with a slight giggle in her voice. Beast Boy had never felt so mortified in his life.

"Starfire, would you agree that Beast Boy has been a very nice, kind and loving teammate all the long years we have known him?"

"Yes, I would do the agreement." Nodded Starfire readily as she set the doll gently on the floor.

"Would you also agree that he deserves to be loved sincerely, unconditionally and forever and ever as long as he shall live?" Raven walked over and put an arm around the doll.

"Yes too that." Starfire's head bobbed up and down with delight. Beast Boy felt a feeling of palpitating fear wash over him - that certain kind of fear that men feel when they spot unspoken communication between women that they don't understand.

"This doll right here," Raven patted it on the chest, "Has been the object of Beast Boy's desire for a very, very long time. It's all he ever wanted, it's also all he ever needed. As loving and caring teammates," she turned to Starfire, "We shall bring this doll to Aphrodite tomorrow to see if the goddess of love would agree to marry him and the doll." Beast Boy's vigorous, neck-spraining shake of the head went completely ignored. Having passed the doll to Starfire, Raven walked over to him and rested a hand on each of his shoulders. "If all goes well," She whispered into his ear, giving him shivers of excitement. "If all goes well, tomorrow you will be husband and doll."

Turning around, the true holder of his desires nodded to Starfire who proceeded to turn towards her room door with the doll, the dung beetle rings quite forgotten.

"Wait, where are you taking it?" He demanded in alarm, instinctively reaching forward for the doll only to be sent flying back a few feet thanks to a blast of Raven's powers.

"It?" Raven asked dubiously, her palm outstretched towards him in a 'stop' gesture. "That's it? No 'darling', 'honey' or even 'sweetheart'?"

"Where are you taking it?!" He lunged forward again but it was too late. Starfire had already disappeared into Raven's room with the doll.

"Uh uh. No." Raven waved her right index finger in his face with a self-righteous frown. "No sleeping with the doll until you get married." She was about to walk away when she hesitated and did an about-face. "Don't worry," She smiled reassuringly to the terrified Beast Boy. "I'm certain my mother will not be so ungracious as to deny your request to be married to the doll."

"Yessss! Your mother is loving and gracious!" Chortled the secretly watching Aphrodite, doubling over with laughter that Athena wished she could not hear.

"But I don't want to be married to the doll!" He whined, realising that she must have heard literally everything he said to the doll.

"It is natural for grooms to get cold feet." She patted his shoulder kindly. "It is also natural for your doll to get flat feet. Make sure you blow it up every day or else its body will deflate." This statement sent Aphrodite into another flurry of giggles, which severely tempted Athena to kick her between her legs. "Don't worry." Raven repeated sweetly. "Starfire won't mess around with the love of your life. She's a very virtuous woman." With that, she wrapped herself up in her soul self and disappeared through the ceiling, leaving a flabbergasted Beast Boy staring at her bedroom door.

"I'll steal it back." He muttered angrily as he tested the knob. "I'll destroy the damn thing so that when Aphrodite comes around, there will be no doll left for her to marry me to!"

"Seal the door." Aphrodite instructed the handmaiden that had followed them. She too was invisible to Beast Boy. Nodding her assurance, the handmaiden placed a hand on the knob to prevent him from opening it no matter how hard he tried. Giggling delightedly to herself, Aphrodite turned to face the skeptical Athena. "I changed my mind. I don't want Beast Boy to be with Raven. I want him to be with the doll."

"You're not serious." Athena deadpanned, refusing to judge Beast Boy on the basis of his midnight habits. After all, as Aphrodite's long-suffering sister, she was used to much, much worse.

"I have never been more serious." Aphrodite declared definitively, enunciating her words carefully to make sure the message got through. "He looked at it with such love in his eyes, surely you cannot deny a boy and his doll the stability of marriage that they deserve!"

"I disapprove of all plans to marry him to the doll until you can give me a good reason as to why I should think otherwise." Athena insisted stubbornly, to which Aphrodite scoffed with a smirk on her face. "Imagine this scene." Whispered the shorter goddess as she drew herself up to her sister and rested her head on the crook of Athena's neck. "Beast Boy and Raven, married, so in love. He brings her to the marriage bed and lays down with her. 'Honey, you are so beautiful', he says. 'I know', she murmurs gently, resting her head on his chest and listening to the steady sound of his thumping heart. 'It's just you and me now.' She declares happily, intertwining her slender fingers with his big strong ones. 'That's right.' He replies with a smile. 'It's just you, me, and _him.' _Him? She wonders to herself. There was never a him. Oh, but there was always a him. Quietly, lovingly, he reaches under the bed and pulls out that very same blow-up doll of Cyborg, all covered in dust. He puts the doll between them and kisses its left cheek, savouring the powdery taste of the dead skin and dust mites. Raven's man, Raven's husband, a doll-kissing dust-eater. Is that what we want for our child?"

"Your imagination should be euthanised." Athena grumped as she pulled away from her sister and began half carrying and half dragging the other back to their bedroom.

"You met him and you won't judge him! What the hell is wrong with you Athena?"

"Oh, if only I had a lightning bolt for all the times I've heard that statement coming out of your lips..."

* * *

**_Next chapter: It's 'wedding' time!_**


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